Death and All It's Friends
by percico-feels
Summary: "When Nico wandered about his death, he always believed he'd die fighting some war, or that he'd die protecting the ones he loved against monsters. He never thought he would die of such a stupid cause as a car crash." One-shot. Slash.


**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO and HoO, Rick Riordan does. And I'm not getting any money by writing this.**

**A/N: I got a message on Tumblr, asking for a sad Percico one-shot. I hope this is sad enough.**

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**Death and All It's Friends**

_by Julie Anna Tennant_

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When Nico wandered about his death, he always believed he'd die fighting some war, or that he'd die protecting the ones he loved against monsters. He never thought he would die of such a stupid cause as a car crash. But there he was, lying on the cold pavement, like a mere mortal, with Percy holding him fiercely; begging him to stay awake, saying that everything would be fine.

Nico knows very well that everything definitely won't be fine, at least not this time. He can feel a big amount of blood on his mouth; so much blood that he almost chokes and it makes breathing a hard task to accomplish. He can hear Percy talking to him, but his voice sounds so, so distant, as if miles separated them, not inches like it truly was. And he's dizzy, the world is spinning around him fast and Percy seems a little defocused to Nico.

"Nico, talk to me" Percy says on the verge of despair.

Nico can hear the desperation on his boyfriend's voice and he wishes he had the strength to reply; to say that he was okay, but there's so much pain that he can't even think properly. The world is a mix of bright colors he's unable to distinguish and the only thing he sees and feels is Percy. _His_ Percy. The guy he secretly loved since he was a kid and that, not even three months ago, he started dating. Gods, that's so unfair. Nico felt miserable his whole life and now that he was happy for once, he'd die a ridiculous death. He, a son of Hades. What a joke he was!

He blinked, trying to focus his vision, but even that is taking him a great effort. He just wanted to close his eyes and wait until all that pain had gone away, but he knows he can't. For Percy's sake, he can't give up like that, even knowing that any effort to prolong his life were in vain. He could feel the death gradually approaching him like a cold blooded predator, ready to rip his soul and end everything at any moment.

"Nico, stay awake, please. The ambulance is on its way" Percy begs and Nico knows he's already crying.

He forces himself to stay awake and looks at his boyfriend. His sweet, beloved Percy. His green eyes are red from crying and there are scratches on his beautiful face from the car crash; his blue t-shirt is soaked with blood, but Percy doesn't seem to be in pain, so Nico concludes it's his own blood on Percy's clothes. It has to be, because he is so weak that he has to be losing blood fast. Yes, it makes sense.

He tries to speak, but all that comes out his mouth is a gasp of pain.

The fear on Percy's face is visible. He strokes Nico's hair delicately and it sends a soothing feeling down the younger one's body. The pain is still there and he's weaker than ever, but he's also calm. Percy is there with him, that's everything he could ask.

"Don't cry, Perce"

His voice is hoarse and small. There's too much blood on his mouth and even saying those three words sends a wave of pain through his chest.

"I'm not crying" the older demigod answers, but it's a lie.

Of course it's a lie, 'cause Nico sees his tears slipping silently down his cheeks.

"Liar" he accuses, even though there's no real criticism on his voice.

Percy reaches for his hand and bends next to him; nearer than he already was. He rests his forehead on Nico's and it's not surprising when the son of Hades feels his boyfriend's tears wetting his face.

"Don't leave me" Percy sobs.

And to Nico, Percy's sorrowful pleas hurt more than any of his injuries. His own eyes are burning with unshed tears, but he just doesn't want to cry. He wants to be strong at that moment.

"You know I love you, right?" Nico manages to say, swallowing a gush of blood.

Percy cups his face lightly and nods.

"Right" he agrees "I love you too"

Nico tries to smile, but his lips are chapped and dry, so he's sure he looks more creepy than humorous.

"Don't say what you don't mean, just because I'm dying"

This just makes Percy cry even more. If Nico wasn't so badly hurt, he would certainly slap that stupid son of Hades.

"You're not dying" the older demigod insists "Help is coming and I do love you, you stupid."

Nico knows he means it. He knows Percy says the truth, even if it still is quite unbelievable to him. And he wants to say it to his boyfriend. He wants to assure him that he knows how much he truly loves him, but he already used all his strength trying to make his lame jokes, so he just grips Percy's hands weakly in reply.

When the end comes, Nico realizes that maybe his death it's not as ridiculous as he first thought. Yes, he died of a common cause – not even near the heroic death he imagined – but he still died in Percy's arms; he died knowing that he was loved by the person he loved. So when the darkness found him, Nico welcomed it as the old friend it was.

**_~FINIS_**

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Worth any review?

**_Julie Anna Tennant_**


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